LP released: Apr 21, 2017
Vinyl LP pressing includes bonus track 'I Would'. 2014 release from the veteran British Synthpop duo. Happy Families Too is a deluxe reworking of their classic 1982 debut album Happy Families. Blancmange melded a unique sound, bringing together electronic and eastern influences with a distinct dance floor sensibility. The resulting album, Happy Families , with its mixture of theatricality and sincerity won them a legion of fans. Neil refers to the new versions on this vinyl LP as an 'interpretation'. 'I just wanted to approach the songs using today's technology,' he says. 'Every time we perform it's a different interpretation. So rather than just dust off the old songs, I wanted to bring something fresh to the project and make it a contemporary reworking rather than an exact imitation.' From their origins making experimental synth wave, to the chart-topping yet cool and credible hits, Blancmange were at the very heart of 1980s club culture, from support slots with Grace Jones, to killer 12" remixes. Their tracks were on regular rotation in sweaty nightclubs from New York, to Berlin to London, forming part of sets reflecting the open minded 'as long as it moves the floor' policy of the time, that would see their records blended seamlessly with disco, post punk, EBM, new beat and early house. Their music also sat with equal comfort alongside both the synth pop of piers OMD or Human League and leftfield cult figures like Cabaret Voltaire or XTC and was undoubtedly popular with many of the leading electronic music pioneers worldwide. Predating the acid house explosion and the many subsequent sub genres, Blancmange's music is a key cornerstone in the musical landscape that shaped both the original electronic music boom and its huge lasting legacy. |
